The present invention relates to a tape conveying device for a video cassette recorder, and more particularly to a tape conveying device for a video cassette recorder which is capable of minimizing the tape travel load and reducing the occupying space at the rear of a drum and thus the size of a deck mechanism, thereby enabling the VCR to be compact and light.
In conventional helical scanning-type VCRs, the winding angle of tape around drum is about 180.degree.. According to the recent trend of the compactness and lightness of VCRs, there have been proposed drums of small size having the diameter corresponding to about 2/3 of those of conventional drums and the tape winding angle of about 270.degree..
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an example of VCRs equipped with such small drums. In this case, a tape 2 which is supplied from a supply reel 25 of a tape cassette 1 to the tape inlet of a drum 9, via a tension post member 3, an impedance roller 4, a supply guide roller 7 and a supply slant post 8 advances in parallel to a chassis, that is horizontally. On the other hand, the tape 2 which comes out of the tape outlet of drum 9 passes a take-up slant post 15 and a take-up guide roller 10 and advances downwardly and inclinedly with respect to the horizontal chassis surface. This is because the tape winding angle of drum is as large as about 270.degree.. Then, the tape 2 travels in parallel to the horizontal chassis surface, by a middle slant post 62 and returns to a take-up reel 26, via a capstan shaft 16 contacting a pinch roller 17 and a guide member 18.
Otherwise, the tape being supplied to the tape inlet of drum may travel upwardly and inclinedly with respect to the horizontal chassis surface. In this case, the tape coming out of the outlet of drum and passing the take-up slant post 15 advances in parallel to the horizontal chassis surface. Of course, the middle slant post 62 is disposed near the inlet of drum 9.
Also, the travel direction of the tape may not be parallel to the horizontal chassis surface at both inlet and outlet of drum.
In conventional tape conveying devices to which the above-mentioned tape travel systems are applied, the use of slant posts and the tape contact angle of slant posts are inevitably increased, thereby causing the tape travel load to increase. Since a slant post and a guide roller are disposed at the rear of drum, they occupy considerably the rear space of drum. As a result, the total size of deck mechanism is increased.